


The little Cooper girl

by GenieInaBottlexx



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Pining, Soft Betty Cooper, Soft Jughead Jones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:33:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25108528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenieInaBottlexx/pseuds/GenieInaBottlexx
Summary: Betty and Jughead grew up on the south side of Riverdale, both serpents by blood, but told to stay away from each other.This is their love story.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 9
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

FP Jones had been the serpent king since he had turned 20. Taking over from his father, he had protected the gang with his life and effectively led them to lead a life away from that of drugs and killing for money. Instead, dealing in weapons and automobile parts legally and at times even providing protection to whichever powerful person needed it in Riverdale for a neat sum. It would suffice to say that FP Jones was revered by the Serpents and the affection had transferred onto his wife Gladys when they had gotten married and then subsequently to their son Jughead.

The black haired boy with stormy blue eyes had always had a sharp head and a soft heart, and that had always been a source of worry for FP. He could usually find Jughead sitting on the couch or on his bed, with his nose buried in some children’s book that Gladys had bought for him, smiling and giggling as he read the stories. He couldn’t count the number of times his little boy had come home with a stray animal, begging him to let him keep it , tears streaming down his puffy cheeks. He had always had to put a stone on his heart and refuse the pleading. If Jughead was ever going to take over as the leader of the Serpents, he would have to be hard. Their business, although much different now, was not one for the weak hearted and FP believed that for someone like Jughead, it was necessary for him to toughen the boy up from an early age, to prepare him for the future. And after Gladys had left him when Jughead was only 5 years old, it had become even more important to FP to hold onto him and to ensure that his boy grew up to be the best leader they had had. It was the only life he had known, and it had been his way of holding onto whatever he had as close to his heart.

And so, he had been as strict as he could be with the boy. Always drilling the Serpent rules into his head, never letting him watch the sissy shows that came on TV, discouraging him from participating in whatever unhelpful extracurricular activities that the school came up with and telling him to stay away from girls for his own good. Especially those Cooper girls.

Hal Cooper had been his right hand man for years. Both of them had been born into the Serpent life and grown up together and although not the best of friends, they got along just fine. At one point, FP had even dated Alice Smith, a north sider who had then moved on to Hal and joined the serpents after she had become pregnant. She had given birth to a daughter and gradually adapted to their life. Then, three years after Jughead was born, she had again given birth to a baby girl. It had always amazed FP as to how similar the girls were growing up to be, just like their mother. Both had the same blonde hair and the same green eyes. But that hadn’t been the reason he wanted Jughead to stay away from them. Him and Alice had been history and he had moved onto Gladys long back. No, his reason had been that he did not approve of the way Hal and Alice were bringing up their children.

Ever since they had been born, the Coopers had dressed their daughters in pretty frocks and skirts. Always frilly and always pastel. Even their names were Polly and Betty, as opposed to the other serpent kid’s names such Toni, Sweet Pea and Fangs. His own boy’s real name, Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third, although quite ridiculous, seemed less pretentious to him somehow. FP had always felt Hal and Alice wanted people to believe that they did not belong to the south side. That they were somehow afraid of being a part of the Serpents and that wasn’t something FP could get over. But knowing Hal, he understood that this was probably Alice’s doing. Alice had always exerted her dominance over him and Hal usually quietly went along with whatever she said. The only time Hal had put his foot down, had been when he had refused to get a home in the north side and leave his gang behind and FP had been pleasantly surprised back then, his regard for the man, a little higher than before. Besides, serpent king or not, he really was no one to make any comment about how one should raise their children and so, he had always kept his mouth shut.

But he wanted to keep Jughead away from them. Not that he had a problem with the girls personally. They had always been nothing but sweet to him, always greeting him politely whenever they saw him and beaming up at him. Nevertheless, he knew the girls would probably never be fully Serpent, with their mothers’ low key distaste for the life of gang banging and he did not want his boy to get involved in anything or anyone that would distract him from his duties in the long run. According to FP Jones, those girls would be nothing but bad news if they befriended his son.

And he hadn’t had to worry about much. The elder cooper girl, Polly, was growing up to be more and more like her mother. She was two years older than Jughead and not particularly chummy with the other south kids. She preferred the company of her dolls and staying quietly indoors, doing whatever school work she had and helping out her mother with chores. FP had assumed the younger blonde would turn out to be the same and apart from the occasional reminder to keep away from them, he had stopped bothering about the issue. Those girls would stay away on their own anyway.

But what he hadn’t noticed, was that little Betty Cooper was different from her mother or her sister. Even as she wore those pastel clothes and had her hair tied up in a neat ponytail, away from her mother’s prying eyes, one could see her screaming around and chasing her friends Veronica and Toni with a stick in hand. If someone went to the abandoned part of the trailer park in the evenings, where plenty of uninhabited trailers were lined up, gathering dust, they’d find her trying to do cartwheels with other serpent kids and guffawing loudly when she failed and fell on her face. If FP had bothered, on certain days, as he walked towards his trailer he would have heard the voice of Alice Cooper giving her younger daughter an earful on how to behave like a lady and not like a hooligan, as he passed the Coopers’ trailer.

His confidence in Alice’s controlling and preppy behavior had made him ignorant to the fact that his own boy, although three years older than little Betty Cooper, had developed a soft spot for the girl. It wasn’t romantic, he was just eight years old. But he had grown to feel protective about the blonde girl. Often helping the five year old wash her hands and applying ointment to them after she scraped them following her shenanigans and helping her complete her homework when Polly refused to do so and at times just rubbing her back and comforting her as she cried to him about something mean her mother had said to her.

Had FP kept an eye on the two, he would have seen that things were going to be different in the future than what he had planned.

“Ronnie, does this look okay?” Betty was standing with her back facing the mirror, as she looked at her best friend sitting on the bed. Her hands on her hips, she twisted around a little to give her friend a good view of the cut sleeve denim shirt that had been knotted at the waist and the black miniskirt she had put on.

“Yeah, you look good. Great like always.” Veronica mumbled as her head remained buried in her phone, typing away furiously at the screen.

A little miffed at the lack of attention she was getting from the brunette, Betty picked up a scrunchie from her dressing table and threw it at Veronica, the item hitting her on her forehead.

“Ow! What was that for?!”

Veronica dropped her phone on the bed and glared at the blonde. She had been making plans to meet Archie in the evening and Betty had been interrupting her all afternoon.

“ It’s not any day, Veronica. _He’s_ coming back today.” Her friend whined as she pulled a face.

Veronica rolled her eyes at that. Of course, this was all about _him. He_ was coming back home after nearly two years and all this dressing up was going on for _him_. Jughead Jones. The serpent prince.

They’d all grown up together, doing silly things and playing games since they had been children and anyone who knew Betty, knew how smitten she had always been with the older boy. What had started out as innocent admiration of how kind he usually was to her, had transformed into a full blown crush by the time the blonde girl had hit puberty. Her eyes always following the dark haired boy whenever they were together, gushing about whatever ‘cool’ thing he had done recently and giggling with Veronica and Toni while discussing what it would feel like to kiss him.

But all that had abruptly come to a stop two years back, when FP had decided that Jughead was going to go to Toledo for two years and would complete High School there before he came back to Riverdale and took over as the leader of the Serpents. It had broken Betty’s little heart and she had cried on Veronica’s shoulder all night. The thought of her crush going away for so long and forgetting her, unbearable to her 15 year old self. She hadn’t confessed her feelings to Jughead back then. Too scared and uncertain to do so. The boy had after all, never shown any romantic feelings for her. And the fact that he was moving away, meant nothing would come out of the confession anyway.

Alice Cooper had rejoiced at the thought of Jughead moving away. She’d seen the way the boy looked and he was going to grow up to be as handsome as his father. Knowing her daughter’s fondness for the boy, from whom Alice had warned her to stay away, not that her insolent daughter ever listened to her, she had a feeling that Betty would end up getting together with him at some point in the future and she did not want her to end up getting stuck to a life of gangbanging. 

Betty on the other hand, had moped around for a few days and then on Jughead’s birthday each year, wallowing that had he been there, they would all have gone to the sweetwater swimming hole and had a blast. She’d stared longingly at Jughead’s trailer many a times, hoping to see the familiar crown shaped beanie that he wore most of the time. But time had flown by and they were just starting their senior year in High School and both Betty and Veronica had grown into attractive young women. Both the girls had made it to the cheerleading team and overall were doing well in school. Veronica had started seeing Archie Andrews, the football quarterback who was surprisingly accepted by their South side friends without much fuss and as later Veronica found out, his dad Fred Andrews had been a friend of FP Jones and Archie had in fact been a friend of Jughead’s. Betty on the other hand, hadn’t dated anyone. Veronica had made her kiss Reggie Mantle during a game of truth and dare and the blonde had once made out with Chuck Clayton at school, but it hadn’t been anything special. She had done it to see what it felt like, but each time, she had thought of Jughead and stopped things from proceeding further. She felt pathetic for pining after a boy that had never shown the slightest romantic inclination towards her, but it wasn’t something she could help. Years of feelings weren’t going to go away just like that.

Then, a week ago, Sweet Pea had informed everyone that Jughead Jones was coming back.

And all hell broke loose. Betty hadn’t stopped fretting over the return of the Serpent prince, wondering aloud as to how he looked now. _Does he still wear the beanie? Has he grown taller? Will his hair be longer?_ The girl had gone shopping for god’s sake and dragged an ever willing Veronica and a grumbling Toni to the mall across the town, trying on clothes her mother would never approve of and purchasing a few with money she had secretly been stashing at the bottom shelf of her small wardrobe. She’d gone gaga about whether or not Jughead would be the same or would he have become a ruthless gang-banger and whether or not he’d still want to talk to her the way they used to and Veronica had felt like that entire week had been one hell of a torture.

But as she watched her friend standing before her, biting her bottom lip nervously, a frown etched on her forehead, she felt the need to calm her frayed nerves.

“ You look so good Betty. Really. And that outfit totally makes you look hot.” She winked at her friend. It was one of the things Betty had bought that day at the store and although it wasn’t anything revealing, it was a far cry from the kind of clothes Alice always bought her. It had been by a stroke of luck that Alice had gone to visit Polly at her college in Michigan and had then decided to stay back to see her own parents for another two weeks. And while mama cooper had been under the impression that her husband would be there to look after their younger daughter, a job across a few towns from Riverdale had demanded Hal’s presence and he too had to go for a while, leaving Betty enough money to buy food everyday and entrusting Veronica’s mother, Hermione with Betty’s responsibility till he came back. It had been a fun few days since then, if Veronica could count out the amount of time Betty had spoken about Jughead.

Smiling a little at Veronica, but still unsure, Betty turned to look at the vanity mirror and picked up a pink lipstick, applying it on her lips and smacking them to spread it evenly. She didn’t know what else to do and she didn’t want to overdo anything, so she went and sat by Veronica, who had gone back to texting Archie, and picked up a book. As she leafed through the pages and tried to concentrate on the words, her mind kept going over the moment she would see Jughead again and how she’d react. She couldn’t contain her excitement as they waited for one of their friends to text them or to knock on the door of her trailer, to inform them that the Serpent prince had arrived.

It happened after a few hours. Toni posted on their Whatsapp group that he was here and Betty suddenly felt like someone had glued her body to the mattress. She couldn’t move as she stared at the screen of her phone. She wasn’t ready to see him. She needed more time. But Veronica, who had seen the text as well, got up and grinned at her.

“He’s here Betty! Let’s go!” and she was pulled along to put on her shoes and to walk out of her trailer to confront the cause of her growing panic.

The blonde felt a little frozen as they walked towards the Whyte Wyrm under the almost dark sky. FP had decided to throw a small feast on the return of his son and every single one of the Serpents was there to welcome the boy. As they walked towards the entrance of the club, Betty noticed an unfamiliar bike parked in the front, a big rucksack tied to the back seat and shuddered as she realized that the bike probably belonged to Jughead. Everything seemed too real now. She really was going to see him after all this time.

Pushing the front door open, they stepped into the bar. It was more crowded than usual and they could spot Veronica’s parents standing near one of the tables as they chatted with Tall Boy. The two girls gave them a small wave and as per Toni’s text telling them to come to the very back of the Wyrm, they proceeded towards the area. Betty’s nerves began to set it as they spotted Sweet Pea standing at a distance, his back facing them as he laughed loudly at something someone had said. Fangs and Toni were standing of either side of him. As they neared the group, Toni turned around and lit up as she saw the two girls. Bounding over to them, she took their hands and dragged them through the crowd and towards their other friends, yapping about something that neither of the other two could hear because of the loud music being played at the bar.

Betty swallowed and kept her eyes to the floor, trying hard to not dig her nails into her palm as the steps towards the group began to become fewer and fewer. In just a few more strides, she’d finally see the boy she had been fantasizing about since she’d hit puberty. Suddenly it felt like the entire week she had prepared herself for this very moment, hadn’t been enough and she was in half a mind to turn around and run away from the place and maybe out of Riverdale. 

But before she could act on her plan, Toni stopped walking and she bumped into her and as she balanced herself and looked up, she was met with the prettiest blue eyes she had seen. The blue eyes she had thought of for the past two years. It was a brief moment and then the eyes moved away from hers. And like a cheesy romantic movie, Betty felt like the world around her had stopped moving, everything blurring out as her eyes focused on the rest of him. He looked different, same, but still different. He had been handsome the last time she had seen him, with his pretty smile and tall, lanky body and while he was still the same height as he had been when he had left, Jughead had definitely become muscular. Not ripped and beefy in the way the boys on their football team were, but beneath his serpent Jacket and his brown t shirt, she could swear he was strapping and strong. His face had sharp edges too, his jawline so much more sharper. And his hair, _Oh, his hair._ He’d lost the beanie she’d seen him wearing ever since she could remember and his bouncy hair now fell in small curls over his forehead and it made him look so much more handsome. Betty wanted to do was to weave her hand through that hair and test if it was as soft as it looked.

That was when she realized that she had been shamelessly ogling at him. Snapping out of her thoughts before they could move towards more R rated things or worse, she tried to act as normal as she could. Veronica went ahead and hugged him in welcome as she stood rooted to her spot, unable to move.

She watched as Jughead hugged her best friend back and then looked at her.

“Betty Cooper? You’re all grown up” The smirk he gave her made her want to melt into the ground and she wanted to go over to him and hug him too. She so badly wanted to do that and maybe feel his hard muscles on her as she did, but all she could muster up was a small smile as she bit her lip and a wave of her hand. _Way to go Betty._

He grinned at her and soon the others cut in and began talking to him. She looked on as they laughed and talked about things that she couldn’t really pay any attention to. What with him looking all hot and handsome. Within a few minutes, it was time for toast and FP went up to the stage, calling Jughead over as he clapped him on the back and talked about how ‘his boy’ was back and would take over as the Serpent King soon and rid him off his responsibilities. After that, Jughead went around the room, making conversation with the other serpents and Betty realized that she was probably being creepy by observing his every movement and decided to make conversation with her other friends instead.

The night dragged on and by the time midnight rolled in, the bar was less crowded than before. Sipping on her beer, something that Alice Cooper would absolutely be horrified about, Betty listened to whatever latest gossip was going around as she sat with Veronica, Toni, Fangs and Joaquin at a table in the corner of Wyrm. Apparently, Fangs had seen Hog eye in an empty room with Mrs. Grundy and in the serpent’s words “those two were definitely getting frisky” and the scandalous piece of information got him a few gasps from everyone around the table.

She felt her eyes closing as the alcohol and the late night hour started to make her sleepy. It was past her regular bedtime anyway and she was planning to go back home in a while, when she felt Veronica getting up from her chair and someone else taking her place. And as she turned her head to the newcomer, she came face to face with the guest of honor of the party.

The blonde drew in a sharp breath as Jughead took a swig out of the bottle of beer in his hand and joined in the conversation. She watched the movement of his lips wrapped around the opening of the bottle and the bob of his adam’s apple as he swallowed the drink, suddenly feeling warm all over.

Tiredness out of the window with the sudden presence of the boy, Betty began to think of ways she could make conversation with the raven haired boy. Maybe it was the alcohol in her system, but the shyness she had been feeling earlier had subdued greatly. But before she could come up with anything, he turned to her and she swore she saw a glint of something in his eyes. Something she couldn’t really pin point.

“So little coop, what’s up with you? Still sneaking away from your mother?” He teased and she felt her cheeks heat up at the familiar nick name.

“I’m no longer little, and I’ll have you know, that I’m not sneaking out. My parents are out of town.”

He laughed at the quip and took another swig of his beer.

“How did the chit-chat with all the oldies go?” Betty continued, knowing that Jughead had always dreaded meaningless talk with people he wasn’t close to.

“Oh, Awful! I have no idea what Tall Boy’s been doing, but has anyone told him that he needs to like, take a shower? I don’t want to sound mean, but it was so hard to talk to him that I barely understood what he was saying. It was just booze all around him”

Betty giggled at the complaint. She knew how hard it really could be. Tall boy probably hadn’t gone near a drop of water for ages and it showed very clearly on him. He wore the same clothes everyday and spent most of his time drinking away in some corner of Riverdale, only to turn up at the Wyrm every once in a while to socialize. But it wasn’t his shabbiness that made him unlikable to Betty. It was the sexist remarks she had heard coming out of his mouth so often, and the lecherous way in which he watched girls perform on the stage of the bar, that filled her with disgust for the man.

“So mister Serpent prince, or should I say King? How’s Riverdale treating you so far?” She leaned a little towards him, batting her eyelashes at him in what she hoped could be considered at least mild flirtation.

Jughead took a swig of his beer and took in the blonde girl leaning in to him. The same girl he had grown up with. The girl her had always had a soft spot for. And while he had been excited to meet up with all his friends he had left behind, he had wondered about how the little Cooper was doing. To say that he had been pleasantly surprised to see her was an understatement.

As he’d been talking to the rest of his friends, he’d watched as Toni disappeared in the middle of the conversation and into the crowd, only to return with two girls in tow. The raven haired Veronica Lodge who had gone and hugged him to welcome him, and the blonde girl with pretty green eyes who had stood there ogling at him for a moment. The blonde girl he had instantly recognized as Betty Cooper.

He was sure she had caught him staring at her for a moment as he saw her for the first time in two years. Her hair was still neatly tied in a high ponytail and the shape of her face remained the same as it had two years prior. Only a little longer with more prominent cheekbones. Her eyes, the same shade of sea green. Jughead had noticed that she was wearing a bit of makeup and had wanted to smile at a memory that suddenly flashed across his mind. _A 10 year old Betty Cooper had one day come to him and grumbled about how much time her sister Polly spent on doing her makeup and how she thought it was a waste of time. Jughead had told her that it was okay if Polly liked doing it and Betty shouldn’t judge her for it. The blonde girl had just given him a stink eye and lightly pushed at his shoulder and telling him to go get some makeup from Polly. He had laughed for 5 minutes straight at her silliness._ It amused him that Betty had indeed changed, but the amusement disappeared as he took in how much she had changed in other ways. He hadn’t let his eyes stray below her face. Well, just for a second maybe. No one needed to know that. But he’d noticed the way her breasts nicely filled out the top she was wearing. The short skirt she was wearing accentuated her wide hips and made her legs appear as though they’d go on for miles and he’d felt a sudden clench in his gut as he quickly looked back up at her and commented on how much she had grown. The small smile and wave she gave him as she dug her teeth into her full bottom lip, had made the smirk he’d given her, almost disappear from his face as the clench in his gut became harder and he was glad when some other people interrupted his staring session and began making conversation. It was only after a while, after having spoken to almost everyone who had come to the party, that he found the familiar blonde ponytail and its owner sitting with his other friends on one of the tables. He’d quickly made his way to the table then and taken the seat next to Betty.

“ It’s only been a few hours and it’s good, I guess.” He wanted to add that seeing her made it better, but kept the comment to himself.

Soon, the blonde girl was shooting questions at him, one after the other. _How’s the weather in Toledo? How’s your mom? How was school in Toledo? Are there gangs in Toledo?_ And he’d answered them all patiently, amused that the girl was still curious as a cat and as chatty as ever. The shyness he’d noticed in her earlier, having completely disappeared now.

They stayed talking to each other for a while, with her questions and his answers and occasional return questions. And then suddenly, Betty had realized that it was very late and she needed to go home. She had almost forgotten that she had school the next day and would be very late if she didn’t leave soon.

They had looked around for Veronica and after a call to he, she’d informed Betty that she was talking to Archie over the phone behind her trailer and would soon go home. Huffing at the fact that Veronica had just left her without a word, the blonde had made to walk out o the Wyrm and towards her own trailer, when Jughead had offered to walk her home. She’d batted her eyelids at him and jumped up at the offer and two had proceeded to walk into the night.

They’d resumed their conversation from before and as they discussed the lack of gangs in Toledo and compared the education between Riverdale and the other city, they hadn’t realized that they’d reached the Cooper family trailer.

As they stood outside the door, Betty gently twirled around and but her lip. She didn’t want to go just yet. She liked talking to Jughead and it had been so long and she was very close to just inviting him inside so they could talk more. But she had school, and as much as she was smitten with the boy before her, she wasn’t going to cut classes and give Alice Cooper more reason to breathe fire down her neck.

So, after finishing the conversation, in a move that took two seconds of contemplation on her part, she jumped up and gave Jughead a hug. Pressing herself against him for a few seconds, she inhaled the scent of whatever cologne he applied and was almost ready to squeal with joy as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. They stayed like that for a few seconds before she let go and he did the same and whispering a “Goodnight, Juggie” , she bounded into her trailer and watched him walk away with a smile on his lips.

As soon as he was out of sight, she ran to her bed and fell on top of it and grabbing a pillow, released the squeal she had held back earlier, right into it. Her night had gone way better than she had expected and she couldn’t wait to see the boy of her dreams again the next day.


	2. Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things proceed and Betty gathers courage to do something. How does Jughead react?

Jughead’s return to Riverdale made Betty feel like he had never left. In the mornings, she’d go to school with Veronica and Toni, go for cheerleading practice and attend to whatever extracurricular activities her mother had goaded her into joining. After coming back home, she’d usually chill around for a while before finishing her homework and studying a little extra to stay ahead of her classes. It was only by late evening that she finally had time to herself. Time that was usually spent helping her mother out with household chores and running errands. But since Alice Cooper was far away in Michigan, she could do whatever she wanted. So, she decided to go and hang out with the rest of the friends. Friends, that now included Jughead.

It was like the old days, they’d go to the abandoned part of the trailer park and talk about all kinds of random things, with Sweet Pea and Fangs being silly and loud and everyone else laughing at them or along with them. Or they’d go to Pop’s and order milkshakes and burgers, with Archie joining them on most days, happy to reunite with his old friend Jughead. The only difference was that now, Betty didn’t need to miss a certain someone. That someone was right before her every day. Her initial shyness upon his return was long gone and she was happy to be able to get the seat beside him as they sat in one of the booths at Pop’s and to ride pillion behind him on his motorcycle when they rode towards home, wrapping her arms around him and feeling giddy at being able to touch him and be so close to him. She wouldn’t admit, but often times, as she sat behind him, she’d try to get a whiff of his cologne, something citrusy if she could sniff the faint scent, and feel the warmth radiating through his t shirt or flannel and prevent herself from pressing her face to his back, afraid of invading his personal space and scaring him away. Getting to stay and talk to him for a while after he dropped her off at her trailer, was an added bonus that Betty couldn’t be happier about. She’d even tried to use whatever flirting techniques Veronica had told her about in detail and everything she’d seen on TV and read in books. She batted her eyelids when she spoke to him, tried to use a low sultry voice when they were alone and giggled at anything he said. Although the last action was genuine, the rest had lasted for a mere two days, before she realized that it was out of character for her to be doing those things.

The other development that Betty was extremely pleased about was their exchanges over the phone. They’d exchanged numbers the day after his return and had begun texting each other regularly since then. The two sent random pictures to each other throughout the day. A shot of the isolated blue and gold offices where Betty often worked on the school newspaper after school hours, a photo of Hot Dog lying at the end of the steps of Jughead’s trailer, his tongue lolling out as the poor thing tried to catch up on sleep in the sweltering heat or a picture of an interesting paragraph on a page from the book either of them were currently reading.

But being the smitten kitten that she was, Betty failed to notice certain subtleties on Jughead’s part. She didn’t see that when they all went to Pop’s and he took a seat, he would place his hand on the seat next to him, not letting anyone take the place and moving it only when Betty approached it. She didn’t notice that when they all stood in the parking lot of the diner, he would offer her his extra helmet before anyone else could, effectively wiping out any competition for getting her to sit on their bike, or the way his lips curved up in a smile whenever she tightened her arms around him and he saw her pulling her lower lip between her teeth, trying to bite back a smile, as they speed off towards the south side. And she definitely didn’t see that he lingered on after dropping her off, trying to find some topic or the other to spend some more time with her. Betty didn’t notice any of those things, believing that it was only her that showed any interest.

A week passed by and knowing that Alice was going to be home in a few more days, Betty decided that it was time to do something. She’d seen the way other girls had been eyeing Jughead since his return, like he was a piece of candy and she wanted him to be only her piece of candy. She didn’t like the way they ogled at him, or came to talk to him every once in a while, almost on the verge of asking him out and before someone caught Jughead’s fancy, or before he friendzoned her, she had to take some action.

So, as Friday approached and the two stood outside her trailer, she gathered all her nerves and asked him the big question.

“Umm, Jug, are you free tomorrow?”

Unsuspecting of anything, Jughead smiled at her. “ Yeah, yeah, I am. What’s up?”

She closed her palm, forming fists and after a brief pause, got the words out.

“I was wondering, if we could go watch a movie tomorrow?” and that was it. She’d said it. There was no going back.

“Sure, which one? Sweets, Fangs and I have some serpent business in Greendale, so we’ll meet the rest of you at the Bijou directly.”

Betty’s eyes widened at Jughead’s ramblings. He thought she was asking him to go for a movie with the entire group. Her plan had taken a U-turn and she had to correct the misunderstanding. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him nervously, her cheeks a little pink from embarrassment.

“ No… Jug, I meant, just you and me for the movies.”

She watched his face as realization dawned on his face, his eyebrows raising a little and his lips parting slightly. Betty wanted to crawl into a ditch and disappear at that moment. Of course he was going to say no. He would never see her as anything ither than the neighborhood kid. She ducked her head, not wanting to look at him when he rejected her.

Jughead was shocked at what he had heard. Betty Cooper had just asked him to go to the movies with her. Just her and him. It was probably meant to be a date, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Since he’d been back, he’d known something had changed between them. She was no longer just the girl he grew up with and cared for. He’d been feeling more for her lately and had been wanting to spend more and more time with her. He liked the way her touch made him feel and he loved her laughter, wishing that that he could listen to the sound for as long as possible. A few years before, he would have locked up such feelings and distanced himself from her, not wanting to get in trouble with his father. But he wasn’t the same person anymore and he wasn’t scared of FP. Given a few days and he would’ve asked her out himself, but he was nevertheless happy to know that she felt the same way.

He smiled at the way she’d lowered her head to avoid his gaze. The sudden bravery from earlier seemed to have vanished and he wanted to coo at her cuteness. Clearing his throat, he tried to grab her attention and put her at ease.

“ Betts. I’d love to go with you.”

Her head shot up at that, eyes sparkling with excitement. _She wasn’t dreaming, was she_? “ Really?”

He nodded, still smiling. “ Of course. I’ll pick you up at 6? We can go there and choose the movie.”

Betty could barely contain her excitement as her face broke into a wide grin. This was really happening. She went ahead and gave him a small hug, something she’d begun doing since the first day he’d dropped her back, and felt his arms wound around her body, squeezing back gently. Releasing him, she waved a bye at him and opened the door to her trailer, standing at the entrance for a moment, to look back at him as he started is bike, winked at her, and left the place. She waited for the sound of his bike to be out of ear shot before getting inside. As soon as she locked the door behind her, she dialed Veronica’s phone number and waited for her friend to pick up. They had a date to plan for.

The next day couldn’t have rolled in slower and by afternoon, Betty found herself in the same place she had been a week back. She was still nervous about seeing Jughead and she was still panicking over what to wear, with a Veronica cooped up in her room. Only this time, Veronica showed a bit more interest in her wardrobe choices, as she pondered over which among the three dresses laid out on the bed would look the best on her blonde best friend.

“B, this yellow floral one looks the best. Wear this!” The brunette picked up the dress and held it before Betty, as if to confirm her opinion.

Betty frowned at the dress and surveyed the other two options. She was more inclined towards the green one because it brought out the colour of her eyes. But Veronica was the fashionista among the two and she trusted her judgment more than her own. She took the dress and hung it at the back of a chair and stuffed the other two back into her closet.

The two sat talking for a little more while, with Veronica gushing to Betty about how amazing ‘Archiekins’ had been on their last date. Betty smiled at her friend, who seemed to have finally stuck to one guy in a long time and who made her so happy. Veronica had dated quite a few boys since they’d started High School, only to break up with most of them within two months, claiming that there was no spark. But she’d been with Archie for longer than anyone else and seemed to be smitten with him and Betty was happy for her. Archie was good for Veronica and she hoped she could find something like what they had, hopefully with a certain black haired Serpent.

The two talked for an hour, discussing other things among ‘Archiekins’ and the brunette soon left to go attend to some work her mother needed her to do at home, wishing her good luck and kissing the blonde’s cheek before leaving. And as the time for her movie date neared, Betty put on her dress and a bit of makeup. She let her hair loose, as it rested neatly on her shoulders, before putting on the beige heels veronica had said would look great with the dress, and waited for 6 pm to roll in.

Jughead drove to Betty’s trailer at 5:50 P.M. Sunnyside trailer park wasn’t huge and their trailers weren’t very far from each other, so he reached his destination in less than two minutes, choosing to wait the extra few minutes, getting the helmet off his head and trying to settle his hair before the small mirror attached to his bike. He had opted to wear a light blue shirt, the sleeves of which he’d rolled up, and black jeans with his usual black combat boots. He’d forgone the S t shirts he usually wore, as well as his serpent jacket, the heat of the summer being too much to put on the leather apparel. As he checked himself once again in the mirror and deemed himself to be presentable enough, he walked to the Cooper trailer and knocked on the door, both nervous and excited for the evening. He had to barely wait for a moment, before he heard the sound of the door being unlocked and as it swung open, his breath caught up in his throat.

The girl before him looked absolutely stunning, but not much less than she did on normal days. The yellow dress she was wearing, framed her lithe body neatly, falling just above her knees in soft pleats, the top showing just a hint of a cleavage, but enough to make him feel like the heat had suddenly been amped up. Her hair framed her face and fell just below her shoulder, her mild makeup only accentuating her features. It took him a moment to realize that he had been looking at her without blinking and when he was finally brought out of his reverie, he noticed the slight smile on her, feeling like a deer caught in headlights.

He cleared his throat and then offered her his best smile. “ Hey Betts. You look lovely.” And she did. _So lovely._

Her smile widened at the compliment as she got out of the trailer and locked the door behind her. “ You don’t look too bad yourself, Jug. The light blue looks good on you.”

He relaxed a little at that. He didn’t want to seem like he hadn’t made any efforts, because he had. He just didn’t have a lot of fancy clothes. His wardrobe mainly consisting of dark t shirts, jeans, Sherpa jackets and sweaters for winters.

After she put her key into her purse, he offered her his arm, which she took happily, as he walked her to his bike, offering her the extra helmet he had brought along.

As he got on his bike and put on his own helmet, she secured the helmet on her head, before getting behind him and adjusting her dress so it wouldn’t fly in the wind, and secured her arms around him. He turned back to make sure she was settled, then started the bike and gave her hand that was wrapped around his torso, a gentle squeeze before riding toward the Bijou.

They picked a suspense thriller. Both of them excited to watch it because it happened to be an adaption of one of the novels written by Daphne Du Maurier. He bought them popcorn and coke and candies and they settled in to watch the movie. The story was great and two were absorbed in watching it play out on the screen, munching on their snacks and somewhere in the middle of the movie, when Betty jumped at a scene, he snuck his hand across the back of her seat, before slowly moving it to wrap the arm around her shoulder, watching her carefully to see if she was uncomfortable at any point, but feeling ecstatic when he watched her bite her lip to keep from smiling in the dark and lean a little towards him. He took it as a positive sign and leaned closer as he moved his focus back on the movie, staying that way till it ended.

It was almost 10:30 in the night by the time the two reached Betty’s trailer. Jughead had insisted on taking her out to Pops to get something to eat and the two had had their fill of burgers, milkshakes and fries. Betty couldn’t have been happier about how the evening had gone. She hadn’t expected anything more than just a movie, but Jughead had been a total gentleman, taking her out to eat, holding her hand whenever they weren’t on his bike, talking to her and making her laugh. She wouldn’t be lying if she said that she hadn’t pinched herself more than once to reassure herself that her lifelong crush was indeed out on a date with her and seemed to be interested in her too. Even until a week ago, she would have never imagined that this day would indeed come.

The two stood before her trailer, once again in the same position they found themselves usually. Only this time, they seemed to be closer. Jughead was leaning on his bike as the blonde girl stood close enough to him, looking at her feet and contemplating if she should do what she had in mind, when the boy broke the silence.

“Betty, I had a great time. It was a wonderful evening.”

“ It really was, Jug.” She nodded, glad that he felt the same, and took a step closer, their shoes touching.

Jughead watched her as she looked up at him through her thick lashes, seeming shy about something. He swallowed at the way she was looking at him, as if contemplating on doing something. And then it suddenly clicked, like a light switch turning on in his brain. Just exactly what it was she was thinking about. And he stood up to his full height, looking straight into her eyes and brought a hand to cup a side of her face as she leaned into his touch and closed her eyes, turning her face towards his. And he leaned down slowly, softly brushing his lips against hers. Electric current passed through is body, as he felt the softness of her lips and he brought his other hand to cup the other side of her face, now cradling it between his hands and deepening the kiss, but not introducing tongue, that would be for another day. Betty brought her arms to wrap them around his torso, to hold him closer to her body, which already felt like it was on fire and the two stayed like that for what felt like hours, before pulling apart.

He rested his forehead against hers before whispering, “And that was a perfect date, wouldn’t you say, Betty Cooper?”

She couldn’t help the wide smile from spreading across her face, as she leaned in and caught his lips in another kiss. It was indeed the perfect date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, is this moving too fast? I didn't want this to be a slow burn and this fic wasn't supposed to be very long, so...  
> But Alice will return soon, so should there be drama?  
> Comments are appreciated :)  
> Thanks for reading

**Author's Note:**

> I love Betty in this. She's such a teenager that it warms my heart to write her like this. And soft Jughead is one of my favourites too. So therefore this story.  
> Lemme know whether you liked the chapter or not in the comments?


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